The Broken World
by lonie b
Summary: At the end of the titan war when Percy defeated Kronos the hero vanished. A long time passes and the world falls to pieces. Andy, a demigod born into this new world has to find a way to fix the things that went wrong. Will she find what happened to the hero that vanished all those years before? Or is he really lost forever? AU future. I do not own Percy Jackson or HoH.
1. Chapter 1

1600 years ago was the end of the second Titan war. It ended with the destruction of the titan lord Kronos and the death of the hero Percy Jackson. No one really knows what happened to the hero because his soul never made it to the underworld and no body was ever found. Even after all this time. A statue was built at Camp Half-Blood in his honor. Everyone thought that with the defeat of Kronos everything would go back to normal. If only. Chaos is the only reward that came from that war. It didn't happen all at once though.

Well first off during the war the bridge between Olympus and the mortal world had collapsed and they all thought that it would be repaired when the gods had won. It never happened. Now the gods had to stay in the mortal world because Olympus couldn't move to another country nor could the gods live on it. They adjusted to the mortal world they were forced to live in and they got to be with their children more often. So they were content.

Then the mist started to deteriorate. Mortals became aware of the presence to the gods. Riots ensued shortly after and war was declared on the mythological world. Demigods were forced to flee from their homes to Camp to avoid being killed by the mortals. Later they learned of the existence of Roman demigods and both sides were having such a hard time defending themselves against the mortals that they set aside their old rivalries to join forces to survive the onslaught. For a while the Greeks stayed in New Rome with the Romans until the camp and city were destroyed and they all had to go to Camp Half-Blood. Unfortunately that was no longer there either.

The weather and climates have got all wacky since the war and natural disasters have increased to a leave not seen in all of recorded history. The gods could do nothing to stop it. When New Rome was destroyed the gods and demigods found that the east coast had been swallowed by the sea shorty after they had gone west and that the temperature was more tropical than it should have been. It had been a century and a half since they had been there and in that time the trees in a swamp-like area had grown accustom to the oceanic salt water and were really tall and strong. With that they built a new base that was in the trees above this swamp land that had up to fifty feet deep water in some places. If they had to go inland for something they took boats through the swamp.

The mortals couldn't find their new home and so they stopped the war and went on to try and fix the world that had broken. Peace became the norm throughout the world and it lasted a good long time. Demigod numbers slowly started to go down since the gods couldn't go out into the mortal world as much as they had been able to before everything went to hell but there were still some that managed to. Other demigods just got together and had kids to keep the small population they had going.

Me, I was one of the few demigods to have been born in the hell called the 'New Age'. At least I wasn't born when all the mortals were hunting us down to extinction; I was born a hundreds of years after. The year is now 3647. My name is Andromeda 'Andy' Wilx, the first child of Poseidon to be born since the last one died. That was back during the second titan war if you were wondering. Poseidon is very protective of me and as much as I love him, I hate that he never lets me do anything dangerous or even remotely fun. This is why I took to sneaking off whenever the chance arose. That's how I came to find my two favorite places and why I was at one of them right now.

It was night time and that made everything darker than it normally is in this place. Not that it really bothered me since I can see underwater naturally. Yes, I am underwater and I can still breathe and see what's around me. Perks of being a sea brat. The place I was at used to be above the water. Most of the building that were here are now mostly gone and the ones that remained are covered with sea plants and providing homes to different creatures. Some of them are very territorial. There were also some ruined marble columns that may have made up a pavilion. All those didn't matter to me though only the statue that was here did. It was of a guy that was around the same age as me, maybe a little older, and he wielded a sword as if about to kill a monster. I haven't been able to find anything saying who he was or why he was placed here in the first place. He was a mystery to me.

This statue was the reason I kept coming back here. I wanted to know but never got any answers. It was a great place to think though even if I never got the answers that I wanted about him I always was able to come up with answers to my other problems. I might have even started talking to the statue after a while but I think that's ok as long as it doesn't answer back. He was very helpful when I had gotten my first boyfriend who then promptly broke up with me a month later, his nose is now permanently crooked.

Today though I didn't come to wallow in my miserable life or solve a problem I have. Only here for the company of my statue guy. He never judges me, though sometimes I swear he laughs at me when I tell him about something stupid I did. He's my friend and he'll always be here for me and I like him for that. Gods I think I falling in love with a statue. My life is so messed up.

Before i knew it dawn was almost here and I had to get back to base before my father figured out i wasn't there. Saying goodbye to my statue I took one last look around at everything and it was really peaceful. Sea life swam lazily through the fields of seaweed that swayed gently in the ocean currents. Then i moved the currents to take me home.

It took about an hour and a half to get back and by that time the sun had risen and I knew that I was going to get in trouble. As I surfaced next to the docks I was proven right when I saw Poseidon standing there. Neither of us said anything as I pulled myself up next to him. We stood in silence for a few minutes as i waited for him to say something. Finally I couldn't take the silence anymore so I broke it.

"So, nice weather today, huh?" I asked.

"Where were you?" he asked me instead of answering my question but at least he's speaking to me. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I've been wondering for hours what might have happened to you and all you have to say is 'nice weather'?" I stood there in silence before he sighed. "I don't want to lose you Andy. Don't do this again." Then he turned and headed up the steps into the treetops.

Around me steam came up off the water as the sun rose higher in the sky and heated up the surface. It was a while before I moved from where I was standing on the docks. Sitting down at the edge I put my feet back into the water. That was where I was when my aunt Hestia found me. She sat down next to me.

"He does love you Andy. You know that right?" Hestia asked me softly.

"Yeah, but I wish he would trust me more to look after myself." I told her and she wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"He still upset about his last child's fate Andy. He doesn't want the same thing to happen to you. Now come on let's get you feed." She said and pulled me off the dock and up the steps.

It was truly amazing how our home looked even though it was in a swamp and in the trees. The main war council area was the largest part of the entire thing but it also the most important. That was where the gods and other leaders had their meetings. The second largest was the mess hall. Then there were the training buildings and armories and living quarters. We also had some buildings to use as class rooms as Annabeth thought it was important for us to still learn. None of the buildings were too fancy but they all still looked nice and they were functional. Rope and plank walkways and bridges connected all the structures together so we can still get from one building to the next. There were even some zip lines if we really needed to get someplace quickly. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to play on them.

Together Hestia and I headed to the mess hall where most people liked to hang out if there was nothing else to do. I got my food and sat down at one of the tables and Hestia went to talk with Demeter and Annabeth. Who is Annabeth? Some of the gods that were alive back in the titan war faded so they were replaced by younger blood. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and after the war her daughter Annabeth was made immortal and when Athena faded a few centuries after Annabeth took her place in that role. Others that were replaced were Ares by his daughter Clarisse, Zeus by Jason who was his son from his roman aspect, Travis and Conner took over for their father Hermes, the love goddess was replaced by one of her daughters named Piper, and a few of the minor gods but not all of them were replaced though.

About half way through with my meals some of the other kids my age came over to where I was. It was Zack and his 'friends'. Zack is a son of Jason and the others were also children of the younger gods. You still don't want to mess with them. They are mean and violent. So I try to avoid them as much as possible.

"Hey, sea-spawn. I heard you got in trouble with your father today." Zack jeered. "If you weren't such a disappointment to our people maybe he'll like you more."

"Hey Zack, maybe if you had a brain you wouldn't have lost a fight to a girl." I shot back at him. It's true he did lost a fight against a girl. That girl being me. Then my father showed up and I got in trouble because I was fighting when he doesn't want me to. The reason I won was because the guy was an idiot and let his guard down and I managed to trip him.

"You cheated in that fight." He growled. "It doesn't count."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Zack let her be for now, we have to get to sword training or else we'll be late." Kevin, one of his friends and a son of Conner, said. He didn't seem to happy that his tormenting session with me was being cut short but he was the son of a roman and the king of the gods so he couldn't be late to anything without getting chewed out for it by his father. Poseidon was a little more lenient on that type of stuff. At least for the first time or if your late so many times that it's useless to even try, like with me.

They left me alone and I finished eating in solitude. After that I went to Annabeth's library to avoid everyone. She let me stay in there all the time even if I had someplace else I had to be but didn't want to go. I started reading Treasure Island for the umpteenth times and fell asleep within a few chapters. That was when I had a strange dream, even by my standers.


	2. Chapter 2

I found myself standing on a mountain side with Greek style builds on it. It would have been beautiful but nearly everything was destroyed. I was running toward the biggest of the buildings and it was at the top of the mountain. This building was made of white marble and silver. Something felt familiar about the place but I couldn't place it at the moment. As I came to the entrance I slowed down to climb over the heap of metal that I think were once the doors. Once i was clear of them I froze as I beheld the scene in front of me.

There was a man with glowing golden eyes and a sword that appeared to be made out of two different metals. Fighting him was a boy, a girl, and a satyr. Around them were giant thrones that all looked different from each other. The boy and girl looked to be around the same age as me and the girl looked really familiar to me and I had the distinct feeling that I had seen her before while the boy looked a lot like I myself did. Unfortunately they weren't able to do much against the man as he kept tossing them aside like dolls. The boy was the only one that was able to stand against him, but barely.

They were tossed back and the boy lost his sword and the girl dropped her knife and didn't seem able to pick it back up or even move. Instead the boy picked it up and advanced towards the man and managed to disarm him. Just as he was about to kill the man I saw the eyes flicker between blue and gold and the boy hesitated before handing him the knife. Surprisingly the man didn't use it to kill the boy and instead stabbed himself. There was a bright light that filled the entire room and when it disappeared the boy was gone as well and the man was dead. My dream started to fade and as it did I heard a voice.

_He will return and it will be soon,_ it said and everything went black. I jolted wake and found myself looking up at Annabeth. I didn't mind so much when she's the one waking me up because I know that when she does there is something important that I needed to know. Unlike Athena before her, Annabeth doesn't have a problem with Poseidon or his children. So she's basically one of my only friends, the others being Hestia and Hades. That just makes my life sound really depressing and it is.

"Sorry to wake you Andy but you're wanted in the Council room by order of the gods." She said softly.

"What's it for this time?" I asked and she didn't say anything and I knew it was bad. She always tells me stuff unless it's really bad. Looking at the goddess in front of me I realized that she was the girl in my dream only she was younger in my dream but it was defiantly her. "I had a dream about you." I said before I could stop myself.

"Oh, and what did you see?" I told her everything in my dream including the voice at the end. By the time I finished all the blood had drained from her face. "Andy what you saw was the end of the titan war when Kronos was defeated." I had never seen her so close to tears before.

"What all happened? Who was that boy that disappeared? And what was with that voice saying he'll return?" I asked wanting to know more so I can make sense of it.

"I don't know about the voice but I'll tell you about the war later. For now we need to get to the Council room." I know she wasn't telling me the whole truth on the first part but she was right about having to go to the Council room. Looking back on it I wish I had just stayed asleep.

When we got there the first person I saw was Zack with a smug look on his face and I wanted to hit him. The other gods were all talking/arguing. Hades was there which made me feel slightly better because I rarely ever get to see my favorite uncle but I also felt dread because whatever this was it was big, his presence just confirmed what Annabeth had already hinted at. As Annabeth and I walked in all talking stopped and all eyes were turned to me.

"Andromeda Wilx we have been notified by your father that you snuck away from base last night by yourself and without permission and not notifying anyone. My son Zack has also told me that you have done this numerous times before. Do you deny any of this?"

"In all doe resect Lord Jason, the term sneaking out means that you get away from a place in secret, hence the not telling anyone." I told him.

"So you accept the accusations?" Hera asked and she gave me a cold glare.

"I will not answer under any circumstances to which I might incriminate myself." Was my only reply.

"Someone has been spending a bit too much time with Annabeth." Conner said to his brother.

"Andy we know for a fact that you have snuck out at least once and with everything that has happened over the years that is very dangerous and risky. Mortals could have found you and killed you or even monsters. You are in no way capable of taking care of yourself." Father said and I got mad.

"And whose fault is that, _Dad_? You don't let me do anything. I can learn to use weapons and learn how to fight, take on monster and all that other hero stuff. I'm not a little girl, I can do these things. I want to do that but you want let me. I will prove it to you if you just let me." I yelled at him and it felt good to get that out of my system.

"I don't want to lose you Andy. This is for your own good." He said as if my yelling at him didn't have an effect on him.

"Sure it is." I mumbled and he apparently heard me, so had everyone else.

"Your sarcasm is noted." Apollo said.

"Andromeda we can't have you putting all of us at risk because you're rebellious. So the council has come to the decision to put you under constant supervision." Piper informed me. I never really liked her or Jason, mainly because they always use my full name. "Starting today."

"I can disable any alarm and security system you dare to try." They didn't seem surprised by this knowing where I spend all of my time, i.e. the library.

"We know." Hephaestus spoke up. "That's why we're not using that type of security to keep you controlled."

"Wait, what?" this could not have any happy ending for me.

"You're getting a personal guard." That shocked me so much I didn't know who said it.

"Who?"

"Just of few of our best." Clarisse stated.

"Zack would you go grab one of your friends and start the first watch. Two of your other friends will take your place in the morning." Jason turned to his son.

"Why do I have to watch her? There are other people just as capable as me." His son complained.

"Yes there are but I want you to watch her because I know you won't let her out of your sight least you get in trouble if something should happen while you're not looking." I stopped listening after that. They continued to explain the details but I was too busy working out a plan to slip from my captors instead of paying attention. We were soon dismissed and I went straight back to the library.

Half way there I was stopped and I turned to see Zack standing behind me. I glared at him and he leaned back a little and that gave me some satisfaction to see. Finally he seemed to gather his courage enough to speak.

"I didn't ask for this you know." He said and it was just a whisper. Instead of saying something to him I just turned and started to my original destination. He fallowed. "Andy, please talk to me. You don't have to make everything the gods say into a conspiracy against you."

"Why not? Everyone else gets to learn how to fight and survive and all I get to do is read books in the library every day. Dad even disapproves of that."

"He just wants to keep you safe and so do I. I worry about you, Andy." He stopped me again and made me look at him. "I wish my dad cared about me as much as Poseidon cares about you."

"Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it." I walk away again. "Just leave me alone." Even as I said it I knew he wouldn't but I still wanted to say it. Zack fell into step beside me but didn't say anything this time. He paused outside of the library door looking at it in apprehension.

"I've never been inside the library." He said and it didn't surprise me that he had never been. Most haven't. They've always been too busy training or they didn't care. "Are you sure it's ok that we're here?"

"No I'm not." And i walked inside with him still standing outside the door. I went over and picked up the book I was reading earlier and turned to where i was. About a minute later Zack came in looking around unsure of what to do. "You're really going to fallow me everywhere aren't you?" He looked over to where I was.

"Yes. That is what I was told to do, so I'm going to do it." Then he looked at the book in my hand. "Annabeth's not going to get mad at you for touching that is she?"

"Well Zack what else am I to do in a library if it's not to read?" I asked him. "Also, I thought Jason told you to have someone else with you to babysit me."

"I wanted to talk to you alone." I looked up at him then. "I'm sorry for the way I have been treating you lately..."

"Lately?" I interrupted him and he flinched slightly.

"Anyways, I'm sorry and I hope that we can start over so that things are easier between us, like they used to be. And I'm also sorry that I ratted you out to the council."

"If you were sorry you wouldn't have done it. Things can't be the way they were because then that would requier me to forgive you and pretend that none of it ever happen." I turned back to my book.

"I shouldn't have done that to you." Zack said quietly and I didn't know if he was talking about being mean to me or breaking my heart. Either way he's still a jerk and I'm not forgiving him. I'm geussing he knew that too. Trying not to think about my time with him I tried to lose myself in the book. "Why do you spend so much time here, Andy?" he broke the silence that had been around us for about a half hour.

"Because it one of the few places I can be left alone and can do some of what I want. Plus a lot of these books are really good." I answered.

"How did Annabeth get all of these books anyway?" I looked up and noticed he was looking at the shelves around us.

"She kept them from when she was human and first became a goddess. Back before the world fell to pieces."

"So these are all a thousand year old books?"

"Older actually. You'll like some of them if cared to even read them."

"Why do you sneak out Andy? Where do you go?" I felt him sit down in front of me and I looked up into his light blue eyes.

"I go where I can be alone and where there is no one to tell me what to do and when to do it. Places where I can be myself." Before he could say anything Annabeth walked in and he moved away from me and tried to avoid the goddess. She scared him and all three of us knew it.

"Andy you should be getting to bed. It will take most of tomorrow to tell you about our history and I don't want you to fall asleep in the middle of it." We chuckled a bit and I told her good night and for once i didn't argue because I really wanted to know and falling asleep would make me miss important info. Then i left with Zack shortly behind me.

"What history?" he asked me as we made our way to my small shack.

"About the second titan war."


	3. Chapter 3

Zack was slightly suspicious and a ton embarrassed when I kicked him out of me room so I could change into my sleep wear. After I let him back in he made sure that all possible exits were locked so I wouldn't be able to get out while he wasn't watching. But honestly I was way too excited for tomorrow to try sneaking out tonight. Some of Zack's other friends came to relieve him of the night watch but I didn't really care because I was already mostly asleep. When morning came I quickly got dressed and made my way to the mess hall for, what was supposed to be fast, breakfast but my guards wouldn't hurry up and eat and they wouldn't let me out of their sight. Finally Zack the only time I have been grateful to see him, came over and offered to watch me while they all finished eating and got some rest.

The two of us made our way back to the library and Zack kept on insisting about why Annabeth had decided to tell me about the Titan War. None of the other gods would say much about it. And they would quickly change the topic if someone were to ask them. They're stubborn like that. Anyways, by the time we got there Annabeth was already waiting and Zack still didn't have his answers. He will find out shortly though. The goddess waved at us to sit down and we did. Zack spoke first.

"Why are you telling us about the titan war, my lady? All the others gods avoid the topic completely." He said and I slapped him upside the head. "Ow. What was that for?"

"She's said she'd tell me about the war. The only reason you get to hear it is because you were assigned on guard duty and chose to come with me this morning to hear the story. Now shut up." I glared at him and he looked away rubbing the back of his head where I had hit him. Annabeth chuckled softly and I noticed a deep, sad look in her eyes. As if she was remembering a delightful and yet painful memory.

"To answer your question Zack, I'm telling the two of you because Andy had a dream about it and I feel it is something she needs to know." She told him patiently. "And yes it's true none of us like to talk about the war and we have our reasons. Poseidon more so then the rest of us."

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Because it was the war that took his last child." That shocked him. Apparently no one had told him that bit of info.

"So what happened?" I asked eager to hear the story.

"Back in the 1940s a prophecy was given that the next child of the big three to reach the age of sixteen would decide to fate of Olympus, so the big three swore to not have any more half-blood children. For about sixty years it worked until Zeus fell off the wagon and had a daughter. Unfortunately on her way to safety she died but Zeus turned her into a tree to preserve her spirit. Later it was found out that Poseidon had a son as well. It was him that the prophecy fell on. The titans rose and tried to take power. On this hero's sixteenth birthday they attacked Olympus and he defended it with his life. The titan lord Kronos was destroyed but Poseidon's son vanished. None of us know what happened to him."

Silence filled the library.

"But how could you not know? I mean if he's dead wouldn't his soul be in Hades' realm?" Zack asked and I realized then that Annabeth said vanished; not dead.

"He's not dead, is he?" I asked in a whisper.

"We don't know what happened to him." Annabeth answered sadly.

"You knew the son of Poseidon didn't you?" I knew her answer before she said anything. Yes, she had known him. "Who was he?"

"Come here." She gestured for the both of us to follow her and we went to the back of the library. I saw her pull a latch on a bookshelf and it swung out along with the wall. Behind it there was a small space but it was set up as a shrine. There was a shield that had picture of a few heroes and a Cyclops on it. Below that was a black and white horn that looked like it had been broken off of something. Right under that was a small shelf that had a few pictures of a teenaged boy with the same black hair and green eyes as me and Poseidon. "These are all I have left of him." She said and i knew from the weaver in her voice that he had meant a lot to her. Like more than a friend, a lot. "The shield was made and given to him by his Cyclops half-brother, Tyson. He had lost it at a prison in California but after he disappeared i went back and managed to find it again. The horn is from one of his first monsters he ever killed."

"What monster was it?" Zack asked slightly more interested now than he had been earlier.

"The minotaur."

"What?" both Zack and I exclaimed.

"Quite the impressive kill considering the first time he killed it he had no weapon or training." A small smile graced her lips as she said this. I felt my jaw drop in shock.

"The first time?"

"Yes the second time was the first night that the titans attacked Manhattan and Olympus in the war."

"Can you tell us all of his adventures and quests? Please." I pleaded and she did. It was almost night time by the time she had finished telling us but the story was well worth missing everything else. I couldn't believe all the things my brother had done. He sounded incredible. Only one Problem. "Annabeth, what was his name?"

"Percy Jackson." She blushed a little as she said it.

"You liked him didn't you?" I smiled sweetly at her.

"He was my best friend."

"I meant as more than a friend."

"That is utterly ridiculous." She said and crossed her arms trying to look angry but I could tell I was right from the bright red of her face.

"You're blushing." I informed her with a smirk.

"Am not." She looked away but I could still see face and laughed when it went even redder. "You two should get going so you can eat before bed."

"We'll talk more about your crush later then." I said and I pulled Zack out of the library before Annabeth could deny what I knew.

"That was interesting." Zack said as me made our way to the mess hall. "I never knew that it was Poseidon's son that fought Kronos."

"I knew that my dad's last child died in a war but it didn't occur to me that it was the titan war." I said almost in a whisper. "But that was all I ever knew. It never even crossed my mind that the hero that somewhat saved Olympus was my brother."

"Well it now makes sense why he's so protective of you."

"And why no one talks about it."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. When we got to the mess hall the moment we walked in all conversations stopped. Then…

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? No one has seen either of you since this morning." Dad shouted.

"We were at the library with Annabeth." I said carefully not wanting to get into too much trouble for having her tell me about my brother.

"You could have informed someone of where you were going."

"Wasn't that the point of having Zack play watch dog?" I said suddenly angry. "I'm not a convict. I don't need to have my every move watched and reported."

"Andy, I've told already, this for your…"

"My own good." I finished for him. "I know and I hate it. I'm suffocating here. I can't stay cooped up forever. Why can't you see that?" I yelled at him.

"You are my daughter…."

"That's a bogus argument. Unless you're just doing this to me because I'm a girl. You never treated any of your sons like this. Not even Percy." Whatever my father was going to say died before it left his lips. I could tell I hit a nerve but I didn't care right now. I just wanted to run away and be free. Free like my brother before. And I did just that. I turned and ran from the mess hall. Away from my father, away from Zack, away from everything. At the docks I just jumped into the water to take me away. I didn't even know where I was really heading but I didn't care as long as I didn't have to be where I was. Only forward.


	4. Chapter 4

**Zack's PoV.**

I ran after Andy when she ran out. Somehow she was faster than me. By the time I got to the docks where she went she was already gone and I had no way of knowing where she went. I couldn't even follow her. She was gone. I've known her long enough to know that she wasn't coming back. Not for a while. Slowly, I made my way back to the mess hall, trying to ignore the feeling that this was my fault. Annabeth had found her way there too and was now being yelled at by Poseidon. When I got closer I knew the reason why.

"You told them about Percy!" the god yelled at the goddess.

"She had the right to know." Annabeth told him firmly. "Keeping her from who she is would only have made it worse. You should know that. Percy was the same way."

"Don't talk about my son like I didn't know him." Poseidon growled.

"Even so, it seems you don't even know your own daughter."

"What is that supposed to mean."

"What I mean is that even with everything you do to protect her there was never anything you could do. She is a free spirit. She would have snuck out whether or not we try to stop her. The sea cannot be restrained, or have you forgotten that." Silence filled the hall.

"Annabeth?" she turned to look at me. "Don't you have any idea where she would go?" I asked my voice slightly creaking, hopefully no one would notice.

"She's left, then?" she asked and I could only nod. "No, I do not."

"Wait, what do you...?" Poseidon started but I didn't let him finish.

"Andy's gone." I couldn't take being there anymore and I left to be by myself. The only place I could think to go was Andy's room. Looking around at the few things she had I realized how much she put into life here. I sat on her bed and tried not to feel her absence but it wasn't going so well. I felt the tears run down my face and I fell apart. Not real manly but I couldn't help it. Andy was my best friend. Even though I'm act mean to her she always managed to make me feel happy. Now she's gone and it felt as though a piece of me went with her.

When the tears finally stopped it was close to midnight and I felt drained. Everything was quiet and I could hear the breeze in the leaves outside. I didn't feel like moving so I stayed curled up where I was. The sound of the rustling leaves eventually lulled me to sleep. I dreamed about Andy. She was in a clearing of some kind, it was too dark to tell much of anything, and I could hear her sobs. All I wanted was to run to her and comfort her but I couldn't in a dream.

In the morning I was shaken awake. At first I thought it was one of the gods but when I could see properly I could see it was just one of my closest friends.

"Hey, Kevin." I greeted the son of Conner.

"How are you holding up?" he asked. He was the only one that knew how much I liked Andy and knew that I still did.

"Terribly. I feel like it's my fault she's gone." I mumbled.

"No it's not, Zack." He tried to reassure.

"I was the one that told the council that she has been sneaking out for a while now. If I hadn't they would have just believe that that was her first time. Then they wouldn't have felt the need to up the punishment and result in her running away." I could feel the tears coming again.

"You did what you thought was necessary to keep her safe. I know how much she means to you Zack." He paused a moment. "I have to get to training. Your father and lord Poseidon were going to come and 'talk' with you but I managed to talk them out of it by telling them that you'll be making yourself more miserable then any punishment he could give you. Piper backed me up, no feelings go unnoticed by her." He paused again. "Anyway they also gave you the morning off but they're having a meeting right after lunch and they wanted me to make sure you're there. After that it's back to regular activities."

"What time is it?"

"Almost lunch time. I'll let you get ready. See you in the mess hall." He put his hand on my shoulder for a moment before he got up and left. I stayed there for a few more minutes before sitting up. Taking one more look around the room I knew that I wasn't going to be my regular self today or ever until I saw the daughter of Poseidon again. By the time I was all cleaned up and mentally prepared for the meeting, it was lunch time. I wasn't feeling very hungry, even though I hadn't eaten since yesterday. So I just went and sat down next to Kevin, waiting for the meeting. It soon came and I didn't pay attention to any of it. I knew that was going to come back to bite me later but I didn't care about that at the moment. Afterwards, instead of going to my regular schedule I went up to the library.

Annabeth wasn't there but I did leave the meeting before she did. There on the chair where Andy sat two days before was the book she had been reading. I picked it up and opened to the first page and started reading. The funny thing, the more I read of it the less I wanted to put it down. I was so involved in the story that it wasn't until it was ripped out of my hands that I noticed someone had been trying to get my attention for the past few minutes.

"This isn't like you, Zack." Hannah, a daughter of piper, said. A few more of my friends stood behind her. "Maybe that sea witch really has corrupted you."

"Go away, Hannah." I grumbled to her.

"Seriously, Zack." Kyle, a son of Hephaestus, spoke up. "Since when did you hang out in the library and read books?"

"Since now."

"Why are you even reading this thing? It looks like it's going to fall apart any minute." Hannah said holding it out at arm's length but still out of my reach.

"That's because it's over a thousand years old and if Annabeth sees you mishandling her books she's going to be angry." I told them.

"You didn't answer my question." She said and started flipping through the pages.

"Andy was reading it two days ago. Now give it back." I reach out for the book but she held it away from me.

"You make no sense, Zack. First you get together with the witch, then dump her not long after, you're mean to her, and now you're starting to act like her. It doesn't add up." One of my other friends said but I wasn't listening to who said it. Instead I jumped up and grabbed the book before Hannah could pull it away again, then ran out of the library. I really hoped Annabeth wouldn't be angry with me taking the book. I got back to Andy's room and lock the door behind me. About an hour later Kevin came and found me. His father is the god of thieves so he can easily unlock a door, but how he managed to get in without me noticing I would most likely never know. One minute I was by myself and the next he was sitting next to me. Hmmm, must be the curse of books.

He didn't say anything to me for a while. I was grateful for that. Finally he handed me a simple leather bound book. I looked up at him confused. He gestured for me to open it. Setting aside the book I had been reading I opened the one he handed to me. On the top of the first page was a date written; Jan 18, 3638. Below it was a messy child's scrawl. At first I didn't understand what it was until I noticed a name in the middle of the page: Andy.

"I found that earlier when you disappeared after the meeting. I thought that you came back here. The corner was sticking out from under her bed. I only read the first few pages. After that I thought that it was too privet for me to read." He explained at my confusion. "I thought it would do you more good than me." Then he got up and left but I called out to him as he started to close the door behind himself.

"Thank you, Kevin." I said and he smiled faintly at me, then he was gone. I stared at the journal in front of me, wondering if I should read it. Finally, curiosity won out and I started reading the first page. It's really hard to read her messy writing but I managed.

Um, hi I guess. I don't know how this is supposed to work but I'll try. Annabeth gave this to me a few months ago to write in but this is my first time. I think I'll call you Friend. I don't have many of those. Zack pushed me off the docks today. I don't even know how to swim. I thought I was going to die! Then I realized that I was able to breath underwater. He panicked when I didn't come back up. So he ran and got my dad. By then I managed to figure out how to swim. At least somewhat. They were both happy that I was ok. But both of us still got in trouble because we weren't even supposed to be on the docks in the first place.

I smiled at the memory of that day. We were both six at the time. We were so much closer then.

"What happened to us, Andy?" I asked the empty air. I flipped to the next entry.

April 1, 3638

According to lords Conner and Travis today is what used to be known as April Fool's day. It's a day to prank people. I decided I would prank Zack. Unfortunately Dad caught me before I could do it. I'm grounded now. I don't know how though since we're in the trees.

I chuckled at the entry. Andy always was a little slow but she did have a good sense of humor when she wasn't mad at you. I continued reading the entries and several of the made me smile. A few of them focused on Lord Poseidon. Those ones were interesting to read. Andy really did care about her father and the rules he had in place for her to keep her safe. It was only when she became of age to start training with the rest of us that she didn't want to fallow them. Fighting was one of the only things that she looked forward to when we were younger. I knew it devastated her when she was told she wasn't allowed to learn.

Another entry talked about a book called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and how she wanted to see what it was like out in the ocean. Apparently she asked her father if he could take her to go see; he told her no. That was the first time she snuck out. The date on the top of the page read: Nov. 9, 3641. She had just turned ten the day before. She only went out a few hundred yards before getting scared and coming back.

A week after that she tried again and took some bright colored cloth to mark some of the trees so she could find her way back easier. That night she only went a few hundred yards past the point she stopped at the time before. She also realized that time that she could see under water as well and didn't even get wet unless she wanted to.

It was at that entry that I decided to stop for the night and get some rest. My dreams that night were about all the good times I had with Andy when we were little. I hated it when I woke up. For more reason than one, mainly because I was greeted with the sight of a goddess when I did.


End file.
